Woolworths Group said it gives out more than 3.2bn lightweight bags
each year. Instead customers would be offered a range of reusable
plastic bags to buy, except at Big W where customers may be given free
reusable bags.

“Our customers expect responsible retailing and they can be assured
that this is just the start of further commitments by Woolworths in this
space.

“Our customers can also expect further commitments in reducing
plastic use in all parts of our supply chain, especially in fruit and
vegetables.”

Simon McDowell, Coles chief customer officer, said the company had
been working on the plan to phase out bags for some time as “part of our
ongoing program to improve environmental outcomes throughout our
business.”

The announcement affects stores only in states that have not passed
legislation banning single-use bags: New South Wales, Victoria and
Western Australia. Woolworths Group stores in South Australia, Northern
Territory, ACT and Tasmania have already stopped offering the bags
in-line with state laws. Queensland has legislated to ban single-use plastic bags from 2018.

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The move follows on from the ABC TV show The War on Waste,
where comedian Craig Reucassel threw the issue back on to the national
stage, pouncing on politicians with a giant ball of plastic bags, and
putting pressure on supermarket representatives.

Reucassel told the Guardian he was very surprised to see Woolworths “go it alone”.

“It takes courage to do it on your own and it will be interesting to see what Coles does.

“It’s a very poor reflection on the politicians of the states in NSW
and Victoria and WA that Woolworths have basically gone ahead and done
it themselves.”

A Greenpeace campaigner, Samantha Wockner, said it was disappointing
that leadership on the matter had to come from the supermarket sector,
rather than from government.

“This announcement by Woolworths shows they are serious about their
responsibilities as one of Australia’s largest supermarket chains,”
Wockner said.

“The overwhelming majority of Australians support a ban on single-use
plastic bags – which are only used for minutes on average, but then
take up to a thousand years to decompose.

“There is no reason for the paralysis currently infecting some state
and federal governments on this issue. It’s time for us to ban the bag
at every level.”